How to Create a Media Kit

Updated February 12, 2016

I’ve been asked several times about media kits and how to create them. I’m just gonna say right off the bat that I don’t have a media kit or advertising page currently as I’m concentrating on other ways to monetize. However, as a keen observer of this type of thing for years, I still have tips.

What is a media kit?

Born in the “old days” of traditional media, a media kit is a package of business information about a company. These days in online publishing, a “media kit” can be a short one-page printable, a multi-page PDF document or a page on your site (often referred to as an advertising, PR or media page). I’ve see all forms.

I like to think of a media kit as a blog’s business card.

Just like a business card provides a snapshot of your vital business information, your media kit gives a snapshot of your website’s vital statistics.

Your business card is given to individuals who might be interested in doing business with you. Your media kit is given to companies or individuals who might be interested in doing business with your blog or website (like potential advertisers, conference sponsors, PR reps, book publishers, TV producers, magazine writers, etc.).

Basic info to include in your media kit

Blog or website name

Address (not the full URL, just the domain)

Logo, tagline or anything else that is part of your unique brand

Brief description of what your site is about or your purpose / niche

Short explanation of the author(s) (might be just you or others if you have contributors)

Your target audience (demographics)

Follower counts for email subscribers (sometimes RSS subscribers are also included but not so much anymore)

List your partnership and advertising options

Include your advertising options, rates (or stipulations if it’s not a rate-based partnership) and payment process. There are many ways to partner with companies. Here are some:

Ad spots on your site—size and placement (screenshots are helpful to explain)

Ad spots in your feed

Ad spots in your newsletter

Brand ambassadorships

Giveaways

Reviews

Sponsored posts

Conference sponsorships

Sponsors for podcasts

Tips

1. Be forthright about why it would be a good idea for a company to work with your blog. Be honest. Don’t be shy. And if you offer stats as a reason, prepare to back them up with proof (such as reports from Google Analytics).

2. Keep it short and sweet. I’ve seen media kits that are super detailed and pages long. I’ve also seen media kits that are one page long. My preference is simply a page on your website. This is because things change so quickly and updating it is a million times easier.

3. Make it high quality. Period. If you aren’t sure how to do it yourself, get an experienced designer to do it for you.

4. Use other media kits as an example. Find someone in your niche with a media kit and use it to give you ideas. You can usually find links to an “Advertise” page.

5. Keep it updated. Make a note on your calendar reminding yourself to update your media kit or advertising page regularly. For hard copies, I’d recommend at least every 3 months. For an advertising page, I’d recommend a monthly edit.

6. Make it easily accessible. If you opt for a hard copy media kit, put a link to the downloadable PDF on your “About” or “Contact” page. Or at least put a note on the page indicating you will email it upon request. If you use an Advertising page, clearly link it in your header or footer.

7. Don’t spam people with it. Be careful when sending your media kit to those who have not asked for it. Make sure you have good reason to send it and if you’re not sure, simply ask first.

Comments

Question: If we were to go the paid sponsors route & created a media kit, how do we go about setting up receiving payments from our sponsors?

My twin sister & I have a local town niche blog & just last week shot an episode of Evil Twins on the Investigation Discovery channel. We were interviewed today by our town’s newspaper, which will hopefully bring us in new followers as well as some potential sponsors. We would like to be as prepared as possible.

Pam, I would invoice via PayPal or use something like FreshBooks. Of course you could just send an invoice using a generic template you print off for free too (Google will show you lots). I hope that helps!

Hi Amy
I was asked for a media kit today — two questions 1) can you recommend someone to make it for me? I’ve googled but haven’t found many. 2) How do I decide how much to charge…where do you find the going rates I guess? I have no clue.

I really think it depends on your blog’s purpose, but I would wait until you have a bit of traction. I’m not sure there is a set number, but there are small business without huge advertising budgets that appreciate the ability to advertise for $10 or $20 a month, so once you think that amount is reasonable to ask for, say, a private ad, I would put up a media kit.

What a great, to the point, post on Media Kits. I learned about media kits after attending a Bloggy Boot Camp and set to work the moment I got home. It took some time, but I was able to finally find some examples to study and after several drafts and trusted reviews from fellow bloggers, I published my first media kit (which I need to update).

And I’m glad that I did get one, because now that I’m working with brands, I’ve had to produce the kit for people. Yikes! Just think, a few months ago I would have said “media whaaattt?”

Thanks again Amy for such a clear and useful post (I love that every post you write helps move me forward on this journey).

I wonder if you would share why you don’t have a media kit yourself. I am just starting out so am not in a rush to have one, but I did assume that bigger bloggers would all have one at the ready. Do you limit your involvement with advertisers, sponsors and PR people or do you approach it in a different way than a media kit?

Well, there are a few reasons I don’t have a media kit. Probably the main reason I don’t is because it’s just not high on my priority list. I’ve pursued income streams that don’t require one, so it hasn’t been necessary as of yet. Secondly, yes, I do limit my involvement with companies and advertisers. I should qualify that by saying companies and advertisers are not beating down my door to work with me (LOL!). But I confess, I’m a bit skittish about contracting with a company and being bound to them. I don’t have any moral opposition to it (i.e. I don’t believe it’s wrong and I fully support other bloggers doing so when they feel comfortable), but I just prefer to do my own thing (so far anyway). I do think bloggers need to be careful when navigating this sort of thing. I understand how flattering it can be that a large company would want to work with me or that I’m being offered products, services or cash that would be lovely, however, I think every blogger needs to really ponder what their deeper objective is in blogging and whether or not an opportunity helps meet that ultimate objective.

Thank you so much for explaining all that. There seem to be so many posts (both here in Australia and overseas) lately about media kits, but I felt it was not something I need to rush into any time soon.

As for media kits, we’ve become experts in the last year or so. We have a great Media Kit (private and by request only) and a Media Quick Sheet. The Quick Sheet (single page) is usually what we give out first and for those who want more detailed info, then we give out the full Media Kit with complete demographics and more.

We’d be happy to help others with any tips or would be happy to show you ours privately (not on a post!). Just visit us at http://anationofmoms.com and email us from our website.

The only tip I will give right now is that when making your Media Kit, don’t make it so elaborate that changing it to reflect new stats would be too difficult or time consuming.

How do you list your rates in something like this? I ask this because, in general- if a large brand wants to place an ad on my site I would want to charge them a way different amount than Sally the Blogger.